Family Justice Counsellor

Support families going through separation and/or divorce. Help them resolve issues around guardianship, parenting arrangements, contact and child/spousal support.

Career Overview

Family justice counsellors (FJCs) are professionally trained and accredited mediators. They are available to assist families in making important decisions around their children when experiencing separation and/or divorce.  In BC, they are employed by the Ministry of Attorney General, Family Justice Services Division.

They can help parents resolve disagreements without going to court and can assist with documenting arrangements through Written Agreements and Consent Orders.

They are trained to provide:

• Emotional support and short-term counselling
• Referrals to emergency and community services
• Mediation services for family-related matters such as guardianship, parental responsibilities, parenting time, contact with a child or child and spousal support
• Help children and youth in mediation services, providing a forum for children/youth to share their views and an opportunity for parents to hear and consider the information from their children when making decisions
• Court-ordered parenting assessments and Views of the Children reports regarding parenting arrangements and contact 
• Information and assistance about obtaining or changing a family-related agreement or court order
• Information about and calculations under the Child Support Guidelines and the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines

Career Prospects

Family justice counsellors serve families across the province at Family Justice Centres and Justice Access Centres. Their services are provided free of charge to parents and other family members. Their annual salary ranges from approximately $71,771.66 to $89,268.45.

For more information on the role of the family justice counsellor, the requirements to apply and the post-hire training, please review the information sheet.

More information about family justice in BC is available on the BC government’s Family Justice webpage.

Family Justice Counsellor career opportunities can be searched through the BC Government Jobs Posting website.

Personal Qualifications

Skills include:

• Active listening
• Questioning and clarifying to identify underlying interests
• Emotional intelligence
• Empathy 
• Strong ethics
• Strong writing and verbal abilities

Ability to:

• Remain impartial 
• Be non-judgmental 
• Work with a diverse population
• Manage sensitive and confidential information
• Work in a highly emotional setting
   

Minimum Requirements

• Canadian citizen or landed immigrant.
• Completion of an undergraduate degree. Applicants with a degree obtained outside of Canada must have that degree evaluated through International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES).
• Conflict resolution courses with the focus on mediation skills development. JIBC recommended courses (offered by the Centre for Conflict Resolution) include: CRES-1100, CRES-1170, CRES-1181, CRES-1105 and CRES-1410.

• Related experience in a human service field (e.g., Indigenous organizations and community services, counselling, community service agencies, employment assistance, dispute resolution, court services, legal services).

  Note: Experience may be gained in a professional/work, community, or volunteer setting.

• Although family justice courses are not a mandatory when applying to a family justice counsellor posting, it can be advantageous for an applicant to take some or all of these courses before their interview. These family justice courses include:
• FAMJ-1000 Family Justice Services in B.C.
• FAMJ-1002 Family Violence: Impact on Separation and Divorce
• FAMJ-1005 Effects of Separation and Divorce on Adults
• FAMJ-1006 Effects of Separation and Divorce on Children
• FAMJ-1009 Child Support Guidelines
• FAMJ-1018 Diversity, Family Dispute Resolution & Access to Justice
• FAMJ-1019 Substance Use in Family Justice

Learn more about family justice courses and the role of a family mediator.